Sharkskin?

[iceyguides]

So the line on my 9ft 4wt is shot. I was looking into buying sharkskin, so i read the product reviews on cabelas and searched some old threads here. A few of the reviews on cabelas said that the line cut their hands, especially when ripping streamers. That worried me since I usually prospect with streamers. I prospect with them because they can be dead drifted, striped, or swung, allowing you to get a sense for the fishes "mood". On the other hand i suspect that sometimes people who work for other line companies etc could go on and post negative reviews, so I wanted to get some "unbiased" opinions. To the guys that have/had sharkskin: have you had any problems with the line cutting your hands? Is it worth the money?

 

[jdaddy]

I like it. No problems "burning" your hand or any of that other non-sense people whine about. It is noisy, which is contrary to my other gear, example my reels are silent cause I don't like clicking, but the swishing sound actually helps in determining line speed etc. There is definitely less resistance in the guides, it ride high and dry, it picks up off the water very well. The only negatives I see are price (but you can find deals) and I seem to see/hear/experience an unusually high number of failed loops. I know probably 10 people with it and 3 have had loop failures. Supposedly this was taken care of in later versions.

Question: 9ft 4wt streamer duty rod? Also, why do you want Sharkskin on a streamer rod? Get something built for a streamer rod, like Streamer Express. Of course there is a Sharkskin Streamer line, but I've never fully understood that concept. Having said all that, guess what is on my streamer rod? LOL.

Edit: If you are in the Reading area you are more than welcome to try out my 4wt Sharkskin with your rod.

 

[iceyguides]

J, If i know i'm going to be chucking streamers all day i will probably bring my 9ft 6wt with spare spools, sinking line, and all that nonsense. What i really meant by "prospecting" is that when i'm getting skunked on nymphs etc. i turn to streamers. I prefer fishing with nymphs or dries so the 4wt is my rod of choice, but since i'm no Vladi Trzebunia i often end up throwing a streamer. I learned to ff with streamers, so they're my go to. when everything else isn't working i can usually get one to grab a streamer. Thanks for offering to let me try yours. I might take you up on that, unfortunately i don't get up to the reading area very often. I'd like to fish the saucon/monacy sometime this winter. If i do get up that way i'll shoot you a pm and maybe we can hit some water. Thanks!

 

[jdaddy]

Ah. You are the complete opposite of me. I have very little faith in streamers, though I know damn well I should. I think you would like the Sharkskin in that application.

Oh, one other thing you will notice is that if you do a lot of water hauls, the Sharkskin rides so high on the water that said hauls can be problematic.

 

[gutcutter]

i fished a 5wt sharkskin all spring 2008 and loved it (except for the noise zipping through the guides). i'm talkin 60-70 ft dry fly casts on the little j during cicadamania.
floats like a cork.
then i bass fished with it out of my float tube for 2 straight days stripping poppers and streamers all day. it tore the hell out of the skin between the distal and middle joint on the first finger of my right hand. i traded it in to my local shop (where i bought it) for another line and they used it as a demo line.
i have since used the airflo ridge line - same concept of decreased surface area contact as sharkskin but the "grooves" run with the line instead of across it.
same great casting without the ripped up finger

 

[Acristickid]

gut- surely this was unnecessary " i'm talkin 60-70 ft dry fly casts on the little j during cicadamania." hee hee

 

[gutcutter]

during the 3rd week, the big fish became very wary of wading too close. i was targeting large rising fish in big, deep pools that were over my head. my distance casting was rewarded and the sharkskin helped.

 

[tennjed]

I would also check out the Airflo ridge lines. I have the Rene Harrop designed Tactical and really like it. Basically the same concept as the Sharkskin but without the god awful noise, finger burns, and price.

 

[jdaddy]

The Airflow would have the casting benefit, however does the ridges contribute to the line riding on the water versus in the water? Mending and pickup is pretty awesome with the Sharkskin.

 

[gutcutter]

jdaddy
i have had no issues with floatability, mending or hauling (double haul), but i could see it as a disadvantage trying a water haul or with some one handed spey casts. nor have i seen a difference between the ridge lines and (the brief time i used) a sharkskin.
i have the ridge line on one of my tarpon rods (12 wt XTR) and a 4wt BIIMX as well as the 5wt BIIMX

 

[jdaddy]

gutcutter wrote:
i have the ridge line on one of my tarpon rods (12 wt XTR) and a 4wt BIIMX as well as the 5wt BIIMX

I have sharkskin on the 5wt BIIMX and 4wt BIIIx. GPX on 5wt and Trout Taper on 4wt. I really like the stuff.

 

[bam]

I liked the performance of the sharkskin, but wasn't a fan of the zip or feel of it. I had the airflo ridge line and had issues with it's floatability the first time I used it. I'm now back to the SA Mastery Series.